Potato-planter



(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet z.

P. STORGK.

POTATO PLANTER. y No. 446,271. Patented Feb. 10,1891.

A jy. 5.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FERDINAND STOROK, OF BUENA VISTA, COLORADO.

POTATO-PLANTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 446,271,dated Iebruary10, 1891.

Application tiled September 1l, 1890. Serial No. 364,612. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FERDINAND SToRoK,`of Buena Vista, in the county ofChaffee and State of Colorado, have invented a new and ImprovedPotato-Planter, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

My invention relates to improvements in potato-planters; and the objectof my invention is to produce a machine of simple construction, that isefficient, durable, and cheap, and by means of which potatoes may beplanted in a stra-ight line and with the hills an equal dista-nce apart.

To this end my invention consists in eertain features of constructionand combinations of parts which will be hereinafter fully described, andthen pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a broken side elevation of the machine with the wheels ofthe vehicle to which it is attached removed. Fig. 2 is a broken planView of the same, showing one of the vehicle-wheels. Fig. 3 is a frontelevation of the machine mounted on the vehicle-wheels and with thetongue of the vehicle in cross-section. Fig. 4 is a broken enlargeddetail view ofthe gong attachment which indicates when a potatois tobedropped; and Fig. 5 is a broken detail view, in rear elevation, of themechanism for adjusting the main plow. K

A rectangular frame A is supported upon a suitable axle B, mounted inthe wheels B, the front end of the frame being provided with across-piece A on the under side, which rests on the tongue of thevehicle, and the rear end of the frame being provided with a cross-pieceA2 on the upper side. A crosspiece C and the braces D are interposedbetween the frame A and the axle B, the crosspieee extending centrallyacross the lower side of the frame, and the braces extending forwardfrom the axle B to the tongue E, thus supporting the tongue. Across-piece C extends centrally across the upper side of the frame A, soas to align with the lower crosspiece C.

On the rear portion of the frame are two boxes F, there being a box oneach side, and the boxes are intended to carry the potatoes to beplanted. Between the boxes is a seat G, on which the driver or operatorsits.

A vertical frame H is fixed to the rear portion of the cross-pieces Oand C and axle B, the upper and lower ends of the frame being connectedby suitable cross-strips H', and the frame thus forms a slideway inwhich the standard J is vertically movable. The standard J has its lowerend j split vertically, and i holes fm, adapted to receive a pin m',which extends through corresponding holes in the tongue, so that bychanging the height of the strip M and fixing its position by the pin,as described, the depth at which the plow L runs is regulated. The upperend of the standard .I is provided with a series of transverse holes orslots j', as indicated by dotted lines in Figs.

3 and 5, and these slot-s are adapted to receive.

the bent ping?, the pin being inserted on the upper side of thecross-piece C', and the standard and plow are thereby prevented frombeing drawn too far into the soil.

The standard is provided on one side with a vertically-toothed rackN,whieh meshes with a pinion N on the shaft n, which is mounted upon theupper side of the cross-piece C. The' shaft n is formed into acrank-handle n at its rear end, and by turning the shaft the pinion Noperates on the rack N and raises or lowers the standard, as the casemay be. The front end of the shaft n is provided with a ratchet-wheelN2, which is engaged by a pawl n2, which-,is pivoted on the cross-pieceO', and the shaft is thereby prevented from turning back and thestandard J from being raised.

A tube O is supported in the rear of the frame H and in line with thestandard J, the lower end of the tube being xed to the cen- IOO tralportion of the plow L and the upper endl O being enlarged, so that. itwill leasily rel Ceive a potato, and the tube should be largeenoughthroughout its entire length to prevent a potato from being cloggedtherein.

Mounted on oppositensides of the frame A, in the rear of theft-libe O,are the'depending standards P, which are braced bythe braces P',extending from the lower portion ot' the 1o standards to the rearportion of the frame A,

The standards are vertically adjustable, having a series of holes j) intheirupper ends, and the standards are held in the desired position bymeans ot' the pins p', which .extend through corresponding holes i'n thesides ot" the frame A and through Vthe holes in the standards.

QA shaftQ is mounted in the lower ends of the standards P, the Vsaidstandards having 2o .suitable boxes so that the shaft may be easilyturned; and Xed to one end ofy the shaft which extends through one ofthe standards an upwardly-extending lever q, by'means of which'the shaftmay be opeiat-echas'de- :5 scribed below. The shaft Q has two depending-posts R fixed thereto, and attached to -the lowe'ren'ds of the postsare -plows S'the plows-be'ing arranged on each side'of the plow L 'andin the rear of said'plow., so'that the 3'0" points of the plows S willbe about opposite the rear portion of'the' plowL. It will thus beseenthat'by movingthe leverg'so as to o'sei'llatethe sha-ft Q,VtheplowsSmay be made to run at a desired depth. The lever q is held 'Vin a desired position so as' to fix Ythe shaft and the plfows connected4therewith by means o'f the toothed rack T, which is attached to theframe A, the lever'q being arranged to engage the teeth in a well-knownmanner.

Fixed tolone side of lthe frame' A'oppsite o'ne of the '.wheelsB is avertically slotted board U, on which is mounted a 'boardujtheboardjfwbeing attached `to the board, U by bolts extending through theslot of the board 45 U,`so' thatthe board u may be verticallyadjusted'thereon, and fixed to the board uis a gong o; A hammer 'u' isarranged adjacent to the gong fu, the shank of the hammer beingcentrally pivoted on the board u, and the 5o hammerv held by .a spring'02, so as to strike the, gong when the hammer is actuated, as describedbelow. k y

f Thewheel B opposite the gongha's Vpins b extending'inwardly from thespokes of the 515` wheel, the pins being` sufficiently long to strikethe shank of thehammer o when 'the wheel'is turned. It will thusbel seenthat when 'the wheel revolves one of the pins will forcethe hammer from'thev gongand as vit 6e passes" thes'pring c2 causes the hammerv toret-urn andstrike the gong. 'lh'ese pins b may be arranged on anydesired number of spokes and at any distance from the hub, and the boardu is adjusted so that the hammer-shank will be opposite the pins. Thepins and gong are to notify the operator when to drop a potato, and theymay be arranged to sound the gong a desired number oi times at eachrevolution of the wheel; and it will be seen that the distance thepotatoes are apart` will depend upon the arrangement of the pins inrelation to the gong, supposing, of course, that the operator drops apotato every time the gong is sounded.

` The machincoperates as follows: The boxes F are tilled with potatoes,the operator seats .himself .between the boxes upon the seat G, and hemay either drive the team which draws the vehicle or may have a driver,as desired, and when the vehicle starts the'plow L will make a furrow,and at the sounding of the gong t the operator drops a potato in thetube O, the potato passing through the tube into the furrow made by theplow L. S, which follow in the rearoi" the plow L, cover the potatoesand throw up sufficient earth to form the potato-hills. It will be seen,too, that the plows S will form a furrow on each side ot a' row ofhills, said fui-rows being well adapted to receive water from anirrigatingyditch in countries whereirrigation is used.

Q From the foregoing description it will be seen that the front and rearplows may be quickl y and easily ad j usted, that the potatoes will beplanted in a straight line, and that as vthe machine is of simpleconstruction it will not easily get out of repair. n

' *It desired, a seat may be attached to the top of the standard J, asindicated by dottedY lines in Fig. l, so that one person may sit thereonand drive and another may siton the rear seat and drop potatoes. Inloose soil the ratchet for raising the standard J-may be gdispensedwith, and the position of the standard may be changed by hand and it maybe Eheld in place by thrusting the pinj2 through the slot 7L in one ofthe side pieces ot' the frame II-I and into one of the holes j in thestandard. j Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patentf l. A frame mounted on wheels, averticallyadjustable standard secured to the frame, a plow on'thestandard, an adjustable brace for the plow, a seed-tube connected withthe iplow, and adjustable covering-plows in the rear ot' the main plow,substantially as described.

2. In a potato-planter, the combination,

`with the main plow having a seed-tube con-r necting therewith, of thevertically-adjustable standard, the curved plow-beam pivoted `in; thestandard and having its lower end :fixed to the plow, and thevertically-adjustable strip extending from the front end of the-plow-bean'i through the vehicle-tongue, substantiall y 'as described.

3. A potato planter comprising a frame mounted horizontally upon aVehicle-axle, a vertically-ad j ustable standard mounted in the frameand provided with aslotted lower end, a curved'piow-beam pivoted in thestandard, a plow Iixed to the lower end of the plowbeam, a dropping-tubemounted in the frame The plows IIO and extending to the rear of theplow, a vertically-adjustable strip pivoted to the front end of theplow-beam and extending through the vehicle-tongue, and a chain attachedto the front endv of the plow-beam and to the vehicle-tongue,substantially as described.

4. A potato-planter comprising a frame mounted horizontally upon avehicle-axle, a vertical frame fixed to the horizontal frame, avertically-adj ustable stan dard sliding: in the vertical frame, acurved plow-beam pivoted in the lower end of the standard, a plow fixedto the lower end ot the plow-beam, a dropping-tube supported in the mainframe and extending to the rear of the plow, adjustable connectionsbetween the front end of the plow-beam and the vehicle-tongue, andcovering-plows arranged in the rear and on each side of the main plow,substantially as described.

5. In a potato-planter, the combination, with the horizontal andvertical frames, ofthe standard adapted to slide in the vertical frameand having` its lower end connected with the main plow, as shown, therack on the standard', the horizontal crank-shaft arranged adjacent tothe standard and provided with a pinion meshing with the rack, a ratchetto hold the shaft and standard from moving` in one direction, and thepin adapted to be placed in holes in the standard to prevent it frommoving in the opposite direction, sul)- stantially as described.

6i In a potato-planter, the combination, with the vertically-adjustablestandard and the curved plowebeam pivoted in the lower end thereof, saidplow-beam having its lower end Xed to a plow and its forward end formedinto a hook, of a vertical strip pivoted to the front end of theplow-beam, said strip being; provided with a series of holes andarranged to extend through the vehicle-tongue, a pin for the holes, anda chain eonneetingthe hook of the plow-beam with the Vehicle-tongue,substantially Vas described.

'7. In a potato-planter, the combination, with the vertically-adjustablestandards on the sides of the horizontal frame, of the rockershaftpivoted in the lower end of the standlards, the eovering-plows supportedfrom the Shaft, a lever iixed to one end of the shaft and extendingupwardly by the main frame, and a rack for holding` the lever inposit-ion, substantially as described.

FERDINAND STORCK. Witnesses:

L. P.. RUDOLPH, J. E. COLE.

